Colusa, CA (MPG) – Local officials said the peace of Colusa residents on Sunday afternoons and evenings has been tested to the point where legal intervention may be necessary.
The Colusa City Council said it is time to dust off the city’s 15-year-old noise and nuisance ordinance and see if there is something that can be done to get the volume turned down on Mexican Rodeos at the Colusa County Fairgrounds.
The action-packed sport, which has become extremely popular in the U.S. in the last decade, pairs traditional rodeo events with loud music that if often heard across town.
“If you can hear music from the fairgrounds when you are on the river, then it’s too loud,” said Colusa Councilwoman Julie Garofalo.
City Attorney Ryan Jones said the city’s noise ordinance does address excessive noise, including noise emitted from a source near residential areas.
The Colusa County Fairgrounds, while it is property of the state, is located within the City of Colusa’s jurisdiction, which has ordinances that could only be preempted if the state had its own laws and regulations regarding events at the property, Jones said.
The 44th District Agricultural Association recently addressed the complaints regarding the duration of the music at the twice-monthly rodeos, after the promoter failed to shut the concert down at 10 pm. The Fair Board plans to implement a $5,000 fine for grandstand rentals if music, which cannot exceed 85 decibels, is not shut down by 10 pm, in keeping with the city’s ordinance.
Fairgrounds CEO Laura Ford acknowledged people do start to complain about the music around 78 dba.
The City Council said they would like to consider their new ordinance to restrict the decibel level carried from the fairgrounds onto city streets and into residential neighborhoods during the entire duration of the events, which are typically about nine hours.
“I’m hoping that the change in the fairgrounds’ fine will mitigate the time that it stops – but I think we should do some digging into our ordinance to better understand what these decibel levels really mean.”
Most municipalities do set decibel levels associated with certain daytime activities, officials said.
“Our ordinance is quite vague when it comes to noise,” Garofalo said. “I know we’re an ag community, but I do think we can put some numbers to noise and be a little bit more detailed.”
Jones said he will work on an ordinance, which typically has decibel exceptions for construction, refuse collection, agriculture.
Garofalo said she would like to see the ordinance address decibel levels carried beyond the source to a specific distance.
“We know that the music goes up and out, so it sounds like you are at the concert when you are on the levee,” Garofalo said. “If we don’t have a specific decibel level, then it’s hard to (enforce).
Colusa County Supervisor Janis Bell said the city and county should piggyback their efforts to enforce measures that satisfy residents living in both city and county jurisdiction, as all have complained about the music coming from the fairgrounds on Sundays.
“We do have an overlap in jurisdictions,” Bell said.
Bell said the county’s ordinance exempts agricultural noises at certain times but allows for decibels to be measured at the closest residential property to the source of other sound nuisances and sets the limit at 55 dba.
“Generally, (people) are OK with the music (at the fairgrounds) the way it is until 10 pm, but as far away as Lurline Avenue, people have called me and complained. It permeates the county depending on the wind.”
The City Council directed staff to work on a new noise and nuisance ordinance and bring it back for further discussion.
A city ordinance requires two public hearings before it can become law, officials said.